Correcting an error
Our previous column concerned rabbits in the garden and included photos of some of the most rabbit-resistant plants. Unfortunately, I sent the wrong file of photos, so the images did not match the captions. I apologize for the error!
To set the record straight, this column includes the photos with their appropriate captions.
To read the column, “Protecting Plants from Rabbits,” browse to tinyurl.com/2vknwbcs. Just don’t focus on the mismatched photos.
Changing the names of plants
We have recently reviewed the naming of plants, including genus and species (“binomial nomenclature”), the more easily remembered common name, and the name given to a particular cultivar, which could be a selected natural variation or a human-created hybrid.
The plant kingdom includes some 380,000 species that are currently known, so botanists need an effective system for identifying individual plants.
We might depend on a plant’s convenient common name, and plant collectors often want to know the name given to a special cultivar. However, as we have emphasized, gardeners should use the scientific naming system when searching for info on cultivating a particular plant.
The earliest system of scientific plant names was created by Swedish botanist Carl Linneaus, with the publication of the first edition of “Systema Naturae,” in 1736. His system was based on the plant’s structural characteristics.
Plant taxonomists, always learning more about plants, sometimes decide that a plant’s name should be changed. Plant scientist Max Ritter, writing in Pacific Horticulture, listed three reasons for changing a plant’s name. See Ritter’s article by browsing to tinyurl.com/59r9ebps.
One need for change occurs when two or more names are given to a specific plant. In most cases, the first published name is used.
A second need for a name change arises when a plant is introduced with an incorrect name. When the error is discovered, the correct name is replaced in the scientific record.
The most common need for a change is based on an analysis of the plant’s DNA, using the latest laboratory tools. (DNA is the abbreviation of deoxyribonucleic acid, the molecule that carries genetic information for the development and functioning of an organism.)
Changes based on DNA sequencing have been described in two categories: lumping and splitting. These changes could apply to either a plant’s genus or species.
Recently, we find an interesting debate over the naming of plant species. This debate within the plant world could be compared with debates over naming a place after Confederate soldiers, a community college after an early colonizer, or similar disagreements.
Let’s explore how a similar debate has emerged in the plant world.
Many plant species have a name based on their structure (morphology), expressed in Latin. For example, the tree dahlia is named Dahlia imperialis, referring to its imposing height, which can reach 30 feet.
Other plants’ specific names could be based on their native habitats, e.g., the century plant has the name, Agave americana.
A third category is the specific names for plants based on a person’s name. These specific names, called eponyms, recognize the original collector of the plant or honor someone who is appreciated by the person proposing the name. These names typically end with “ii”.
An example of an eponym referring to a plant collector is Lewis’ mock-orange (Philadelphus lewisii), recognizing Meriwether Lewis of the famous Lewis & Clark Expedition (1804).
Another example of a collector’s eponym is Karwin’s Sage (Salvia karwinskii), referring to Bavarian botanist Wilhelm Friedrich Karwinsky von Karwin (unrelated, to my knowledge), who collected in Central and South America in the 19820s. There are many plants with “karwinskii” as their specific names.
An example of an honorific eponym is Taylor Swift’s millipede (Nannaria swiftae), which is a species of millipede in the family Xystodesmidae. It is found only in the Appalachian mountains of the U.S. state of Tennessee.
Plant people usually are content with specific names based on morphology or native habitats, but some are debating the use of eponyms. On rare occasions, some people find eponyms offensive, e.g. a cave beetle names Anophthalmus hitleri, for some reason.
More often the concern over eponyms is that naming a plant for a single human individual is regarded as trivializing the Earth’s biodiversity.
This concern derives from the history of researchers from colonizing European nations, who frequently named their discoveries after white, male, upper-class Europeans. This practice minimizes the indigenous populations who had lived with the plants for long periods before the arrival of the plant collectors.
It also bypasses the names assigned by the native population of the natural habitat. For example, a plant we know as the fan aloe (Aloe plicatilis) has at least three African names: bergaalwyn, tongaalwyn, and Franschoekaalwyn.
The plant people who would like to change some eponymous plant names would prefer names based on the plant’s characteristics, its native habitat, or its name in the language of the native habitat.
This discussion is going on within the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature and its partner organization, the International Association of Plant Taxonomy. The advocates of a new naming policy are not expecting any change to happen soon; the most likely revision of the policy would affect only the names of new plants. Changing existing plant names would be a very challenging task.
Mark your garden calendar
The Cactus and Succulent Society of America will present a live webinar: “The 37th Inter-City Show and Sale,” at 10 a.m. on Saturday (tomorrow!). The “Inter-City” (as it’s called) is the largest and most influential cactus & succulent show in the United States.
Inter-City Show judge Woody Minnich will show and describe the extraordinary trophy table plants. He will explore the factors that influenced the judges’ decisions and the criteria that each plant had to meet to be selected for the trophy table.
Visit cactusandsucculentsociety.org/ to view a gallery of the show table plants and register for this free event.
Tom Karwin is a past president of Friends of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and the Monterey Bay Iris Society, a past president and Lifetime Member of the Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society, and a Lifetime UC Master Gardener (Certified 1999–2009). He is now a board member of the Santa Cruz Hostel Society, and active with the Pacific Horticultural Society. To view photos from his garden, https://www.facebook.com/ongardeningcom-566511763375123/ . For garden coaching info and an archive of On Gardening columns, visit ongardening.com for earlier columns or visit www.santacruzsentinel.com/ and search for “Karwin” for more recent columns. Email comments or questions to gardening@karwin.com.
